Black History is
American History.

Curating the names of influential Black Americans, past & present, and giving them the recognition they deserve. Because Black History is American History.

Isaac Burns Murphy

Considered one of the greatest jockeys in history, he won three Kentucky Derbies between 1884 and 1891. This feat wasn’t matched by another jockey until 1945. His career win record at 34% has yet to be equaled in American horse racing. He also was the first person to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Why did his name fall into obscurity?

Mary Beatrice Kenner

She changed the world of feminine care with the invention of the sanitary belt, the precursor to the self-adhesive maxi pad. She also has five patents covering various household items, including an improved version of the bathroom tissue holder. What else did she invent?

Lloyd Hall

Meet the man responsible for helping to make the modern preservation of food and other products a reality for billions of people across the world today. While his research helped to combat spoilage and rancidity in food, he earned 59 U.S. patents too. Oh, and also improved the bacon-curing process (you’re welcome for that one). So, what else did he do?

Nearis Green

So who taught a young Jack Daniel how to distill what would become the world’s best-selling whiskey? Until recently the public assumed that credit belonged to Dan Call, a Tennessee preacher & distiller. But actually, it was Call’s slave, “Uncle Nearis”. As you can imagine, it’s a complicated story for the brand.

Wilma Rudolph

She overcame polio and debilitating sickness as a child to become the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. Her record-breaking achievements even earned her the monicker of the “fastest woman in the world.” How’d she do it?

Henrietta Lacks

Though she died of cervical cancer in 1951, her cells were discovered to have unique properties. These immortal “HeLa” cells were instrumental in developing the polio vaccine as well as other key scientific landmarks including cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. Yet, her story has raised controversial questions about the ethics surrounding privacy & patient consent. Who was this unrecognized woman?

Shirley Chisholm

Before Hillary Clinton or even Barack Obama, there was Shirley Chisholm. Fourty-five years ago, Chisholm became the first African-American woman to run for president. Although that’s a historic accomplishment, that’s only the beginning to her story.

The Triple Nickles

Also known as the 555th Parachute Infantry Division, the men in this elite unit were the first Army smokejumpers in the military during WWII, Black or otherwise. Why haven’t you heard of them? Well, their clandestine mission was to secretly fight the forest fires created by thousands of incendiary balloon bombs sent across the Pacific by the Japanese, the only known attack on U.S. mainland during WWII. Who were these guys? And why was this a secret?

So, What is this?

This is a site curating the names of influential Black Americans, past & present, and giving them the recognition they deserve. Because Black History is American History.

If you want to learn more on my rationale and reasons for the site, check out my feature article interview with Tumblr. Also, you can read about my UX, visual design, and content strategy in a post I wrote for Medium. This project has also been featured in a number of publications, including:

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Submit a Name

Submit a name for consideration. Write the name in the "title" and his/her accomplishment in the "caption area." I'll use this primer to create a post. Be sure to leave a name or Tumblr/Twitter handle so I can credit you. Or, just tweet to @blackinhistory or @alexpierce: